Notes

Reviews

Reviewer:fractalswithinNature -
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February 6, 2009 Subject:
not the best source available, but show is a must have

the other AUD sources are better, so get those and don't be discouraged from burning this show to disc, it is a classic. this is a show for me that I never tire of playing, ever. it is beautiful. set one is solid. do you like bird song? check. how about Althea? this show has a great one. deal is agreat first set closer. Now for the heavy lifting: SET TWO!!!!!!!!!
scarlet>fire contains half an hour of that gorgeous, chaotic jamming that we know and love. THis Moring Dew is a must hear. YOU MUST HEAR IT!!! i get waves of body buzzes when i listen to this Dew, it is a wonder. heavy, heavy, heavy, song man. if you don't already have this show in your collection, you are missing one of the best, certainly from the 80's at least.

Great show, but Jim Wise had his D-5's levels up too high, in my opinion. Why the multiple copies from the same source?

The other copy, available here, from the front row of the balcony is much, much better.

Reviewer:richardcanoli -
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April 19, 2006 Subject:
very special night of music and lightning

"lots of double-dose folks here tonight!" is what i managed to scribble on the back of my ticket stub. the aud is pretty loud on this recording, but they really roared whenever "if the thunder don't getcha the lightning will" It's because throughout the Space before The Wheel, Jerry had been playing weird atmospheric licks as if he was accompanying the brilliant flashes of lightning and crazy rolls of serious-sounding thunder that were exploding above us in the sky that night...

It had been a beautiful day, thick majestic clouds floated peacefully over the parkland that is the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. the tribe was mellow and serene, like the sunshine rays of golden daydream liquid that bathed the rocky woods and splashing streams. Everybody was in a great mood, just sharing in the new day's celebration, getting primed for the show later that evening.

If you timed it right and got off as you were going in from the campground/parkign lot, the walk was sooo beautiful. there was no line, there were only groups of people, ahead and behind, and all trekking through the woods toward an event that everyone was sure would be blessed.

And the band did not disappoint that night.

Bertha is just a great opener, no matter if it's your first time hearing it or your 3 hundredth. Jack Straw after that, and it was one of those "for the old timers" kind of shows...but next up was "Enjoy the Ride" or so the back of my ticket says, then Althea, both kinda new back then. But it was back to the tales of western heroes and villains after that, with Mexicali into Big River.

swaying n twirling to dreamy Birdsong and Althea, square dancing on the hill with beautiful strangers to Mexicali and Deal, the first set closed as the sun was taking its rest, going down round the other side, and leaving us a made-to-order star spanglin' night. the doses had been everywhere that afternoon, Moons and Red Dragons, and drops that got dropped onto welcoming tongues too, so that by the time the setbreak rolled around, there was nothing but smiley, pie-eyed lovers-of-sounds milling 'round, catching your eye, making you feel welcome and alive and so very happy.

the 2nd set begins with the stranger part of the trip, but for now it's fun and light with Scarlet's song. then the transition, and it foreshadows eerieness to come, as Jerry and Phil speak of power and things unexplained...and just as they do (as it always seems when these things happen) the heavens and nature combine, forging and complimenting the musical explorations, rumbling and splashing, like loud heat lightning, as the boys ignite the Fire on the Mountain. When the Playin becomes furious, the sky rises with it, and the thunder is now part of the show; of course you know Billy and Mickey have intimate relations with nature's primordial forces, so their drum break collaboration is extra-exciting and joyous, and at times downright scary. The boys enter back, slowly, Jerry's atmospheric licks encouraging the gods, and these licks are certified: not of this earth.

As the Space becomes the Wheel, the sky is content to play, and no rain falls but lightning and bombs, and the handful of folks I toured with that summmer all miraculously (as always, right?!) turn up, and we join new friends, holding hands through the Dew...sweating, smiling, safely stoned and oh-so-glad to be alive. what a feelign that is, when you're friends are there, and new ones too, and the music talks to you all, of love and pain and hearts that bleed and souls that soar...

this was just another in a long series of magical nights. "one more saturday night" and as special as they ever come.

thanks to all those concerned for making this available. I haven't heard the SBD, but already I prefer this recording. As I said, the crowd is loud but not to worry - the music comes shining through. Thanks again, All, and thanks especially to the Good Ol' Grateful Dead.

This has to be the best Morning Dew thats ever been played. Its too bad most of the tapes of this show are echoey but if you can see through that, you'll see what I mean. Phil was tearin the place down during the whole second set. Ive often wondered why he didnt crank the bass more often. Its shows like this that created all the phil fans in the 80s. Jerry was tops in this show too. SPAC was the bomb, Ive never missed a show there.

WOW
After spending the day downlowding shoes this is THE CULLMINATION. This is up there with Cornell 77 and Stanford 10-10...This show rocks!!! The crowd sound adds to this greatly.It's hard to to seperate highlighs..From the start..Birdsong to Althea first set. Scarlet>Fire is all equal to and perhaps the better then the fabled Cornell77...This might very well BE THE SHOW....

Oh yeah.. this was a special show. The deadhead below is right, Saratoga and Alpine were two of the great outdoor amphitheaters ever to Melt with the Dead... and Saratoga was a special place to see them play. For those who Danced at Saratoga in the Rain in 84 and those who danced in the Sun in 83... you remember. This 83 show was the best of the best.

Man, I finally looked up the SPAC online so I could finally see pictures of this venue. Now I really understand what everyone's been raving about. I have always loved the 83,84 and 85 tapes from the Saratoga. Actually they are in my top 20 if not lower all time favorite shows. Iam a huge fan of the 84' tour but I like the year before and after a little better.
Anyway this place is absolutely beautiful. That must of been so fun to see the Dead at this place.(still can't imagine) Although some Heads who didn't make Deer Creek or Alpine feel same. Merriweather Post and the Greek Theater are 2 others I would of died to have been at esp. in the 83-85 Gonzo period. I bet Jerry and the boys were so stoked when they first laid eyes on this place in 1983. From the pictures it kind a has an ecological type look to it. More woods and a nature theme to it vs. Hard Steel & Metal structure like Tinley or Carter-Finley (I know thats a football field) but, trying to make a point. Must of been crazy when the circus rolled in town to hit the new Venue. I mentioned before I live near Alpine and hit almost all of those from 87~89 but I fell in love with the SPAC when I finally got to see what it looked like. I listened to those tapes for years and read alot about it and heard from friends first hand that went to the 85 show and I still can't imagine how much fun that would of been WOW!!! I feel the same way about Merriweather and of Coarse the Greek. Oh well I guess I'll have to settle with Alpine and Deer Creek. yuk yuk.

Jerry's turns on Scarlet are amazing. He goes higher and higher as the crowd goes crazy. Jesus H. Christ! Junkie Jerry at it again. Recording quality is not so great, but for a show like this with so much energy, I love to hear the crowd go nuts. Thanks Jim Wise.

Boy, I'm getting chills up and down my spine hearing this. This was my first show ever, and for all the times I saw the Dead afterwards (30+), this remains the best.

Admittedly, the recording quality isn't the best, but who the fuck cares? The energy of the show was of a quality that I never quite heard again at a Dead show, and even now, 21 years after the fact, I still hear it on the tape. For me the first two songs of the first set are transporting. And the second set: oh my god. The _Scarlet-Fire_ combination which flowed into _The Wheel_, which seemed to be played to coincide with an actual thunder storm which broke over the venue.

I don't know if the level of energy and synergy between the band, the audience, and the natural elements is accessible to people just hearing the tape, but I hope it is.

All in all, the recording quality is not good, but as a record of the Grateful Dead at the best I ever heard, I think this is a must-have and a must-hear.

heynow.Ya'll are just too hard on them.wether anyone else could have got onstage and do what they did in half as sober as a state is a true champ.not to dis them.they had a fun time.all in all I think this show is pretty much prime time. Like pizza,even when its bad its still pretty good.dont mind me anyhoo.peace